Cinematographic printing apparatus



v Feb.'3, 1942. G, F. RAcKl-:T'r

CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRINTINGv APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 1QS .S Si 132 am@ .Si Gm Bt MSI u )I eveizor @reu 2.i M7 y fus egys:

9 Sheets-Sheet 3 G. F. RACKETT CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRINTING APPARATUS FiledJune l2, 1940 Feb. 3, 1942.

Feb. 3, 1942. G. F. RACKETT. .i 2,271,572 y I CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRINTINGAPPARATUS V Filed June 12, 1940 9 sneetssneez 4 cverc/ZOT f Feb. 3,1942.

C5.` F. RACKETT CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRINTINGV APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1940v 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 ,f1/11er Ffb- 3, 1942- G. F. RAcKETT.

CINEMATOGRAHIC PR''IINGr APPARATUS Filed June l2, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 6Feb. 3, 1942. G, F, RACKE'r-r 2,271,572

CINEMATOGRAFHIC PRINTING MPARATUS Filed Jun 12, 1940 s sheets-snm a @W@JMW Feb. 3, 1942. G. F, RAcKE'r'r CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRINTING AIPARATUSFixed June 12, 1940 Patented Feb. 3, 1942 CINEMATOGRAPHIC PRINTINGAPPARATUS Gerald F. Rackett, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor toTechnicolor Motion Picture Corporation, Hollywood, Calif., a corporationof Maine Application June 12, 1940, Serial No. 340,120

17 Claims.

being located between the row of pictures and i the soundtrack.

The principal objectsof this invention are to increase the accuracy withwhich the pictures can be located on the film and at the same time toincrease the rate at which pictures can be printed with accuracy. Otherobjects are to prevent slippage of two films relatively to each otherand to eliminate all air spaces between the films while printing onefilm from the other. Still further objects are to effect successiveprintings, of sound-track, pictures and border lines for example, in asingle machine, and to provide a machine which is simple and compact inconstruction, which can be threaded and adjusted with facility, whichcan be operated with the films feeding in either direction, and which isreliable and durable in use.

In one aspect the present` invention involves a printing machineprovided with a belt, preferably made of Monel or stainless steelribbon, having teeth for engagement with the sprocket holes (or otherregistering openings) in the film. The belt is fedaround a drum orotherwise along a path having a curved portion, in which the teethproject from the convex side of the belt, preceded by a relativelystraight portion. The film is fed tangentially upon the y belt in therelatively `straight portion and then, in the curved portion,

the film is drawn snugly against the belt or against an underlying filmon the belt. By making the pitch of the teeth approximately an evenintegral lmultiple (one or more) of the pitch of the sprocket holes,'the film feedssmoothly upon the belt teeth in the relatively straightrun of the belt and then the film is slightly stretched by the teeth asthe belt and film pass over the drum due to the movement apartof thesuccessive teeth as the belt curves over the drum. This relativemovement of the teeth also tends to draw the printing film and film tobe printed snugly together against the periphery of the drum because thetips of the teeth move farther apart than' their bases.

The aforesaid belt is preferably an endless belt trained around two ormore drums (pulleys, rollers or other curved surfaces) and means arepreferably provided adjustably to tension the belt after it is appliedto the drums, thereby accurately to regulate the pitch of the teeth. Ina more specific aspect the tensioning means comprises a sub-framecarrying one drum and its associated printing apparatus so that, inadjusting the belt, the drum and printer move together as a unit.

In photographically printing one film from another film the printer ispreferably locatedl at approximately the center of the curved portion ofthe path of the film, where the tension of the film is most uniform andis substantially the same in each direction of film travel. In

machine having an endless belt and two printers the latter arepreferably located at opposite ends of the belt orbit with their opticalaxes substantially in the plane defined by the axes of the two beltdrums.

The aforesaid frame lines and border lines may be printed by one of theaforesaid printers, as for example the picture printer,l or they'may beseparately printed with one or more border printers. When separatelyprinted the frame lines and the cycle lines may be printed with separateprinters or with a single printer, and each of the border line printersis preferably located in a branch path leading from the belt to theprinter or printers and thence back to the belt. For example, the filmto be printed may be fed tangentially to the belt on one side of thebelt orbit, thence around one drum, thence tangentially from the belt onthe other side of its orbit, thence to the border printer or printers,thence tangentially back to the belt, thence around the other drum, and.thence tangentially from the belt to a take-up reel.

In printing by imbibition from a dyed matrix to an absorptivce blankfilm the films are brought together in the relatively straightportionand then pressed together in the curved portion as abovedescribed. In this case the imbibition printing begins as soon as thefilms are pressed together, and continues until the dye reachesequilibrium in the two films or luntil the films are peeled apart. Bywetting the gelatin coatings of the two films and then pressing themrily together they adhere in intimate contact after theyleave theaforesaid curved portion. f

For the purpose of illustration typical embodi` ments of the inventionare shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammaticview of one embodiment:

Figq,2 lsja side elevation of the same embodiment;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal cen tra] section through oneof the optical printers, showing parts in elevation;

Figs. 7 and 8 are enlarged views of one belt drum and seating roll,parts being broken away;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the frame-line printer;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a part of an endless film constituting a partof the frame-line printer;

Figs. 11 and 12 are end and side views of one of the ratchet drivemechanisms;

Fig. 13 is a vertical axial section of the ratchet drive mechanism;

Fig. 14 is a schematic view of the reversible driving mechanism for thevarious nlm reels; and

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic representation of the invention applied to animbibition printer.

The particular embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 14comprises an endless belt I trained over drums 2 and 3, feed and take-upreels 4, 4', 5, 5', 6 and 5 for the three films P, T and N, which mayfor example comprise a positive film to be printed, a sound-tracknegative and a picture negative respectively, guide rolls 1 to I1inclusive, pressure rolls I8 to 2| for pressing the films upon the teethof the belt I, printers 22 `and 23, which may for example be of anysuitable type for printing sound-tracks and pictures respectively, aframe-line printer 24 and a cycle-line printer 25.

With the films running in the direction of the arrows the film P to beprinted feeds from the reel 4 over the roll 1, thence tangentially tothe belt I through a short stretch where the teeth ci' the beltgradually move into the sprocket holes of the film, thence over the rollI8 which snugly seats the film against the belt, thence through an arcof 180 around the drum 2, the film being printed by printer 22 at themiddle of this arc, thence past rollers I9 and 8, thence approximatelyhalf way around the frame-line printer 24 where the frame lines areprinted between the picture spaces, thence over rolls 8, IU and II tothe cycle-line printer 25 where the cycle lines are printed along thesides of the picture spaces, thence over rolls I2 and I3 back to the pinbelt, thence under pressure roll 20 where the iilm is again pressedtightly against the belt, thence through an arc of 180 -around the drum3, the film being printed by printer 23 at the middle of this arc, andthence over rolls 2| and I4 to the take-up reel 4'. The film T feedsfrom reel 5 past rolls 1 and I8, drum 2, rolls I9 and 8 and thence tothe take-up reel 5', this film being seated snugly on the toothed beltover film P by the pressure roll I8 and serving to print the film T atthe aperture of the printer 22 as the two films pass the aperture innon-slip contact with each other. The film N feeds from reel 6 overrolls I5, I6, I1, I3 to the belt I, thence under the pressure roll 20where the lm is seated snugly against the film P, thence over the drum 3where the images from this film are printed upon the film P by theprinter 23. and thence over rolls 2| and I4 to the take-up reel 6. Whenthe machine is operated in reverse direction reels 4, 5,' and 8' serveas feed reels, the reels 4, 5 and 5 serve as take-up reels and the filmsare seated on the belt by the pressure rolls I9 and 2l instead oi therolls I8 and 20. Otherwise the operation of the machine is the same,except of course the order of printing is reversed, the film P beingsuccessively printed at 23, 25, 24 and 22.

As shown in Fig. 1 the rolls 1, 8, I3 and I4 are preferably spaced fromthe belt a distance greater than the length of the teeth so that theteeth move into the sprocket holes of the films while the films approachthe belt tangentially throughout the short stretch between each of saidrolls and the next succeeding pressure or seating roll (Il, I9, 20 or2l). Thus the films feed freely upon the belt teeth without danger ofdamage to the sprocket holes. As shown in detail in Figs. 7 and 8 thebelt teeth are preferably in the form of pins inserted from the back ofthe belt with heads seating against the back of the belt and soldered orbrazed thereto, the belt drums being grcoved to accommodate the heads ofthe pins.

Each of the seating roll assemblies I8, I9, 20 and 2I (Figs. 2, 7 and 8)comprises a roller jour naled in a head 18 which slides vertically in abracket 1I and which is pressed toward the belt by a spring 12. Eachroller comprises two end rings 13 having annular recesses to receive therings 14 and 15, the rings being fastened together by screws 16 andmounted on a ball bear ing 11. The rings 13 are provided with recesses18 (Fig. 7) to receive the belt teeth and the outerl diameter of ring 14is less than that oi rings 13 and 15 so that only the rings 13 and 15press the films, thereby to seat them snugly on the belt. In Figs. 7 and8 the roller is spaced from the belt a distance approximately equal tothe thickness of the films but in practice the spring 12 would of coursepress the roller against the belt in the absence of films therebetween.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the drum 3 is journaled in a sub-framecomprising a back plate 26, sliding in gibs 21 mounted on the main frame28, and a bracket 29 fast to the plate 26. To hold the belt taut thesub-frame is yieldingly urged to the right by a spring 38 interposedbetween the bracket 29 and an adjustable screw 3| threading through abracket 32 mounted on the main frame 28. By adjusting the screw 3I thebelt I may be stretched more or less to adjust the pitch of the teeth asaforesaid, thereby to adjust the force with which the two films aredrawn into intimate non-slip contact with each other as the teeth of thebelt separate fan-wise in entering the curved portions of the beltorbit. The printer 23 is also mounted on the plate 26, which extends tothe right (Fig. 2) beyond the main frame 2B, so that the drum 3 andprinter 23 are adjustable as a unit.

The particular frame-line printer illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, 5, 9 a'ndl0 comprises a circular lamp housing 33 fixedly mounted on the mainframe through an upstanding bracket 34 and a tubular member 35, thehousing having a detachable cover 36 carrying the lamp 31 and having anopening 38 in its upper side through which the iilm is printed.Surrounding the housing 33 is a rotor 39 which rotates on ball bearings40 sur rounding the member 35. The rotor 39 has flanges 4I to guide themarginal edges of the film and teeth 42 to engage the sprocket holes inthc film. Snugly surrounding the rotor 39 is an endless lm 43 which hassprocket holes to receive the teeth 42 and which is opaque except forthe transparent frame lines 46 between the areas 44 corresponding to thepicture areas of the film P to be printed. The periphery of the rotor 39is solid except for slits 45 which are disposed in axial planescorresponding to the transparent spaces 46 and which are wider andslightly longer than the transparent lines 46. A light stop 41'ispivotally mounted on the housing 33 at 48, spring 49 being provided tohold the stop either in open 0r closed position. As the lm P passes overthe top of the housing 33 the frame lines are printed by'light passingfrom lamp 31 through the aperture 38 thence through the slits in therotor and thence through the transparent lines 46 on the film 43, thewidth of the frame lines beingI determined' by the width of the lines 46on film 43.

The partic'ularicycle-lline printer illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4comprises a housing 58 mounted on the main frame through the medium ofthe same bracket 5| which carries the reels 5 and 6, a removable bottom52 which carries the lamp 53 and a removable cover 54 having taperedlight openings 55. Mounted in a recess 'in the top of the cover 54 is aliner 58 also having tapered light slits in line with the slits 55.Pivotally mounted at 51 on the cover 54 is a pressure shoe 58 which isprovided with a detent 59 forholding it in closed position and whichcarries springpressed pressure bars 68 adjacent the light openings 55 tohold the nlm in close contact with'the liner 56 While the cycle linesare being Iprinted on the lm through the slits 55.

The particular picture printer chosen for the purpose of illustration(Fig. 6) comprises a casing 6|, light-trap ventilators 62 and 53, aremovable cover 64 having means 65 for adjustably supporting a lamp 86,a condenser lens 61 adjustably mounted at 88, an adjustable aperture 59,a filter holder |18 and a gate |1| pivi.'

otally mounted at |12, the gate being provided with a detent |13 forholding it in closed position and an aperture plate |14 having anaccurately dimensioned aperture |15 corresponding to the size of thepictures to be printed from the lm N upon the film P. By making theaperture |15 larger than the pictures to b e printed, dimensioning theapertures with sufficient accuracy and positioning the plate |14 withsufficient accuracy transversely of the lms on the drum 3, the framelines and/or cycle lines may be printed by the printer 23, in which casethe frame-line and cycle-line printers may be omitted and the nlm P neednot leave the belt along However for maximum accuracy the frame linesand cycle lines are preferably printed with separate printers as hereindisclosed.

Associated with each of the feed and take-up reels 4, 4', 5, 5', 8 and 6is a ratchet drive mechanism constructed and arranged as shown in Figs.3, 1l, 12 and 13. Each'of these mechanisms is mounted on the main frame28 by means of a bracket 88 and is driven by a belt 8| connected to themain drive associated with drum 2. The belt 8| trains over a pulley 82which is journaled in the bracket 88through the medium of a hub 83,roller bearings 84 and a fixed sleeve 85. Mounted on the side of thepulley 82 are three spring-pressed pawls 86 which engag-e the teeth of aratchet ring 81. The ring 81 is mounted by means of screws 88 on theouter cylindrical part 89 of a clutch assembly.

Coaxial with the pulley 82 is a film reel spindle 98 having a key 9| toprevent rotation of v the reel on the spindle and havingr a detent 92 tohold the reel on the spindle. The spindle is journaled in ball bearings93 and 94, bearing 93 being mounted in the stationary sleeve 85 and thebearing 94 being mounted in the pull-ey 82.

hand end of the outside ring 89 (Fig 13) is rotatably mounted throughthe medium of a bushing |83 and the left-hand end of the ring isrotatably supported on the spindle 98 through the medium of an end ring|84, a bushing |85 and a sleeve |85. The ring |84 is threaded into thering 89 and is held in position by a spring |81 seating in one of aseries of recesses in the outer face of the ring. Interposed between thering |84 and the friction rings 98 and 99 is a spring |88 which pressesthe friction rings together, the

right-hand end of the ring 89 counteracting the thrust of the spring|88. Thus the parts of the clutch which are keyed to the spindle 98comprise 95, 96, 91 and 198 and the parts of the clutch assembly whichrotate with the spindle 98 only through frictional engagement comprise89, 99, |82 and |84. Fast to the outside of the ring 89 is a ratchetring |89 engageable with a pawl ||8 mounted on the stationary bracketThis mechanism is claimed in the application of Harold H. Klemola,Serial No. 260,322, filed March 7, 1939.

The operation o'f the ratchet mechanisml is as follows: When the reel onspindle 98 is functioning as a take-up reel the spindle 98 is driven ina clockwise direction (Fig. 11) through the medium of the belt 8 I,pulley 82, pawls 86, ratchet ring 81 and the clutch assembly, therebytending to drive the reel at a somewhat greater rate than that of thelm, the clutch slipping enough to maintain a constant pull on the lrn.During this clockwise rotation pawl ||8 rides idly over the teeth ofring |89. When the machine is reversed to kfeed all films in reversedirection, belt 8| is reversed thereby driving the pawls 88 in acounterclockwise direction (Fig. 11)l However, pawls 88 are inoperativeduring this .reverse drive, riding idly over the teeth on the ratchetring 81. The pull on the film rotates the spindle 98 and the innerportion of the clutch assembly counterclockwise but the outer portion ofthe clutch assembly is held against rotation by the pawl |8 inengagement with the teeth of-ratchet ring |89, thereby serving as abrake on the lm., The belts 8| of the various feed and take-up reels 4,4, 5. 5', 6 and 6 are connected directly or indirectly to a commonreversible motor or other driver so that all the reels may be reversedsimultaneously. While the film reels may be driven in various ways thedriving connections shown in Fig. `14 have been found highlysatisfactory. This arrangement comprises a reversible motor change-speedgears ||2, speedreduction gears ||3, spiral gears ||4 and H5,` shaftsH6, ||1, |18, ||9, |28 and |2|, drive pulleys |22 and |23,belt-tensioning pulleys |24 and |25, and the aforesaid belts 8| fordriving the pulleys 82 of the lm reels 4, 4', 5, 5', 6 and 5'. Either orboth of the drums 2 and 3 may be driven directly by the motor. Thus, inFig. 14,

' drum 2 is connected to the motor through shaft I8, etc. However, forrnost purposes it is prefer'- able to omit this connection, permittingthe drums to be driven solely by the films through the medium of thetoothed belt The typical application of the invention to imbibitionprinting illustrated in Fig. 15 comprises, in addition to the pin beltand drums 2 and 3 shown and described in connection with the firstembodiment, means for treating a blank film B and a matrix film M. Thelatter film feeds from a supply reel |30, through an elevator |3|, dyetank |32, wash tank |33 for rinsing off 'the superficial dye, and thenceto the belt at the pressure rolls |34. The blank film feeds from thesupply reel |35 through an elevator |36 to the belt I between thepressure rolls |31 where it is seated against the matrix with the coatedsides of the films in contact. To avoid inclusion of air bubbles betweenthe films they are brought together under water in tank |38. The waterwhich leaks out through the slits for the belt may be caught in a drainpan |39 and constantly replenished through an inlet |4E. After the filmsare brought together along the straight portion of the belt they passinto the curved portion over drum 3 where they are drawn into intimatecontact as above described. With this arrangement it is unnecessary toexert much if any pressure on the films between rolls |34 and |31.Indeed they may be brought together with a single roller as at 1 inFig. 1. After being drawn into intimate contact the lms stick tightlytogether until peeled apart at roller |4| whence blank B passes to a drybox |42,e1evator |43 and take-up reel |44 and the matrix M passesthrough wash tank |45, dry box |46, elevator |41 and thence to take-upreel |48. From the foregoing it will be evident that dye is imbibed bythe blank B from the matrix M from the time the films are pressed intointimate contact until the dye reaches equilibrium in the two films orthe films are peeled apart.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. Apparatus for printing one film from another film, comprising a belthaving teeth fitting into sprocket holes in the films, means associatedwith the belt for stretching at least one of the films, means forseating one film against the belt and the other film against the rstfilm, means for feeding the belt and films past a printing station, andmeans at said station for printing said film while said teeth hold thefilms in non-slip relationship.

2. Apparatus for printing one film from another film, comprising a belthaving teeth fitting into sprocket holes in the films, means for feedingthe belt along a path having a curved portion in which the teeth projectfrom the convex side of the belt preceded by a relatively straightportion, means for tangentially feeding film upon said belt in saidrelatively straight portion, means for seating one film against the beltand the other film against the first film, and means for printing saidfilm in said curved portion.

3. Apparatus for printing one film from another film, comprising a belthaving teeth fitting into sprocket holes in the films. a drumfmeans forfeeding the belt along a path having a relatively straight portion andthence over said drum, means for tangentially feeding film upon saidbelt in said relatively straight portion, means for seating one filmagainst the belt and the other film against the first film, and means atsaid drum for printing said film while curved. the pitch of said teethbeing approximately an integral multiple of the pitch of said sprocketholes so that the film feeds smoothly upon the teeth in said relativelystraight portion and is then stretched by the teeth in passing over saiddrum.

4. Apparatus for printing one film from another film, comprising a belthaving teeth fitting into sprocket holes in the films, means for feedingthe belt along a path having a curved portion in which the teeth projectfrom the convex side of the belt preceded by a relatively straightportion, means for tangentially feeding film upon said belt in saidrelatively straight portion, means for seating one film against the beltand the other film against the first film, and means substantially atthe center of said curved portion for printing said film.

5. Apparatus for printing film of the type having sprocket holes,comprising spaced drums, an endless belt trained around the drums withexternal teeth for engagement with said sprocket holes, means forfeeding two films tangentially upon the belt between said drums with onefilm seating against the belt and the other film seating against thefirst film, and means for printing said film while on a portion of thebelt which is on one of said drums.

6. Apparatus for printing film of the type having sprocket holes,comprising spaced drums, an endless belt trained around the drums withexternal teeth for engagement with said sprocket holes, means forfeeding two films tangentially upon the belt between said drums with onefilm seating against the belt and the other film seating against thefirst film, means for printing said film while on a portion of the beltwhich is on one of the drums, and means for maintaining the belt under apredetermined degree of tension.

7. Apparatus for printing film of the type having sprocket holes,comprising spaced drums, an endless belt trained around the drums withexternal teeth for engagement with said sprocket holes, means forfeeding two films tangentially upon the belt between said drum with onefilm seating against the belt and the otherfilm seating against thefirst film, means for printing said film while on a portion of the beltwhich is on one of the drums, and means for adjusting one drumrelatively to the other drum to vary the tension of the belt.

8. Apparatus for printing film of the type having sprocket holes,comprising spaced drums, an endless belt trained around the drums withexternal teeth engaging in said sprocket holes, a printer at one of saiddrums, a frame, a subframe for mounting the printer and associated drumon the frame, and means for moving the sub-frame relatively to theframe, thereby to adjust the tension of said belt.

9. Apparatus for printing film of the type having sprocket holes,comprising spaced drums, an endless belt trained around the drums withexternal teeth for engagement with said sprocket holes, means forfeeding two films tangentially upon the belt between said drums with onefilm seating against the belt and the other film seating against thefirst film, and means adjacent each drum for printing the film whileheld by said teeth around the peripheries of the drums.

l0. Apparatus for printing one film from another film, comprising spaceddrums having their axes in the same plane, an endless belt trained itsoptical axis approximately in said plane at each end of thebelt orbitfor printing said nlm while trained around the drums respectively.

11. AApparatus for printing one film from another film, comprisingspaced drums having their axes in the same piane, an endless belttrained around the drums with external teeth extending into vthesprocket holes of said films with one film seating against the belt andthe other film seating against the first film, and means in said planeat one end of the belt orbit for printing a sound track on said film,and means in said plane at the other end of said orbit for printingpictures on the film.

12. Apparatus for printing lm of the type having sprocket holes,comprising spaced drums, an endless belt trained around the drums withexternal teeth for engagement with said sprocket holes, printing meansdistributed around the orbit of said belt for printingv on the film asound track and pictures and border lines, at least one of said printingmeans being located at one of said drums to print the film while trainedaround the drum, and means for feeding another film around the latterdrum in superposed contact with said first film.

13. Apparatus for printing film of the type having sprocket holes,comprising spaced drums, an endless belt trained around the drums withexternal teeth for engagement with said sprocket holes, means forfeeding two films in superposed relationship upon the belt in one sideof the belt orbit, means for printing one of said iilms from the otherfilm while on a portion of the belt which is on one of said drums, meansfor tangentially feeding the printing film from the belt on the otherside of the belt orbit, means on the latter side oi' the belt orbit inadvance of said last means for feeding the printed film from the beltalong a branch path and thence back to the belt, means for printingframe lines on the printed film in said branch path, means for feedinganother film upon said belt over said printed film between said branchpath and the second drum, and means for printing from said third filmupon said printed film while on a portion ofthe belt which is on thesecond drum.

14. Apparatus for printing one film from another film comprising anendless belt having teeth for engagement in the sprocket holes of thefilms, means for guiding the belt along an of the pitch of the sprocketholes so that. in said curved part, one film is drawn snugly against thebelt and the other film is drawn snugly against the first film due tothemovement apart of the successive teeth as the belt is curved, and meansfor printing said film in said curved part of the belt path.

l5. Apparatus for printing one film from another film comprising anendless belt having teeth for engagement in the sprocket holes of thefilms, means for guiding the belt along an orbital path including acurved part and a portion leading to the curved part, means for feedingthe films to the belt-in said portion and thence around the curved part,the pitch of said teeth being approximately an integral multiple of thepitch of the sprocket holes so that, in said curved part, one film isdrawn snugly against the belt and the other film is drawn snugly againstthe first film due to the movement apart of the successive teeth as thebelt is curved, and means for wetting the films before they are broughttogether, whereby they adhere in intimate contact after they are drawntogether in said curved part.

16. Apparatus for printing one film from another film comprising anendless belt having teeth for engagement in the sprocket holes of thefilms, means for guiding the belt along an orbital path including acurved part and a portion leading to the curved part, and means forfeeding the films to the belt in said portion and s,thence around thecurved part, the pitch of said teeth being approximately an integralmultiple of the pitch of the sprocket holes so that, in said curvedpart, one film is drawn snugly against the belt and the other film isdrawn snugly against the first film due to the movement apart of thesuccessive teeth as the belt is curved. whereby the films are broughtinto intimate contact for printing purposes.

17. Apparatus for printing one film from another film comprising anendless belt having teeth for engagement in the sprocket holes oi' theiilms. means for guiding the belt along an orbital path including acurvedpart and a portion leading to the curved part and a relativelystraight part leading from the curved part, and means for feeding thefilms to the belt in said portion and thence around the curved part andthence along said straight part, the pitch of said teeth beingapproximately an integral multiple oi' the pitch of the sprocket holesso that, in said curved part, one film is drawn sungly against the beltand the other film is drawn snugly against the first film due to themovement apart of the successive teeth as the belt is curved, wherebythe films are brought into intimate contact for printing purposes.

GERALD F. RACKE'IT.

